Intel launches Xeon 6 series, first 18A data‑center CPUs

Intel has launched its Xeon 6 server processor series, marking the company's first commercial deployment of its advanced Intel 18A manufacturing process in the data center. The new CPU family, previously known by the codename Clearwater Forest, is designed for high-density computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure workloads.

The six-chip lineup is headlined by the flagship Xeon 6990E, which packs 288 cores and 576 megabytes of L3 cache. Two of these processors can be combined in a single server for a total of 576 cores. The processors are based on Intel's Darkmont core architecture, which prioritizes power efficiency. The company claims the Xeon 6990E delivers an average of 30 percent higher performance per thread and 30 percent better power efficiency compared to a rival 192-core AMD Epyc 9965 processor.

A key innovation is the Intel 18A process node, which introduces a transistor design called RibbonFET. This technology replaces a transistor's conventional channel with several thin, stacked sheets. Engineers can adjust the width of these sheets to tune a transistor for specific balances of power efficiency and speed, allowing for greater design customization. The...